'˜Miracle' girl Camdyn, 5, takes on 5k trek for charity

Five-year-old CAmdyn Gillespie is about to compete in her first 5K race. Picture: Greg Macvean

But that hasn’t stopped the five-year-old, from Quartermile, training tirelessly for her first 5k run, in a bid to raise as much money for charity as she can.

After a family friend was diagnosed with cancer, Camdyn’s mum Stephanie Easton, said there was no stopping her daughter in her tracks. “Camdyn is very mature for her age,” Stephanie said.

“When she was about nine months old, we realised something wasn’t quite right, but it was trying to convince the doctors that was the difficult  part.

“When they eventually agreed to do an MRI scan, they said it was one of the worst results they’d ever seen.

“The whole right of her brain showed up to be damaged.

“When her dad and I received the news it was horrible.”

Stephanie, who works as a nurse, added: “But she certainly doesn’t let it get in the way of her life.

“She gets tired a bit quicker than other children and she has a slight limp, but she really is a little miracle. She’s always the child who’s hanging on the monkey bars with just one hand.”

Last month, Camdyn, who is a pupil at Tollcross Primary, accompanied her mum to the Edinburgh marathon where some of their friends were running to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

After listening to what had been going on around her, Camdyn asked her mum if she could run a marathon too because she wanted to raise money for charity.

Stephanie, 31, said: “I told her she was a bit small to run a full marathon so we came to a compromise that she could run a 5k.

“She’s been so dedicated to training and she absolutely loves it. She’s been out practising in the Meadows.

“We are all so proud of her.

“She has more life in her at five years old than I’ve had in my whole life. She loves playing with her dollies and her friends like any other child her age, but she enjoys educational things like learning Spanish too.

“She decided herself she wanted to raise money for Macmillian Cancer Support.”

Camdyn will be running in the Edinburgh 5k Colour Vibe on Sunday, July 17.

Runners are blasted at with colour at every refresh station throughout the course at Newhall in Midlothian.

Stephanie said that Camdyn already has future plans to participate in more charity events to raise money for cerebral palsy charities.

Cerebral palsy is caused by a problem in the parts of the brain responsible for controlling muscles.

The condition can occur if the brain develops abnormally or is damaged before, during or shortly after birth.

You can donate to her fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Camdyn-Gillespie

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